How To Choose the Right Mouth Guard

When equipping yourself or your child for the risks inherent to playing sports, think beyond the most obvious high contact sports and the body’s largest bones. Don’t forget about teeth. 

Millions of teeth are knocked out of millions of Albertan athletes’ mouths annually. Whether or not your sports league makes it mandatory, dentists in NW Calgary strongly recommend that everyone who participates in contact sports wear an appropriate mouthguard.

What options are there for mouth guards?

There are three primary types of mouth guards near you: stock, “boil-and-bite,” and custom. They all have different values, virtues and disadvantages. 

Stock 

Stock mouth guards are one size fits all — albeit in different sizes — units that you purchase off the shelf. They are not custom fit to any athlete’s mouth. Because a L stock mouthguard is designed to fit everyone with a L mouth, they end up fitting everyone with a L mouth pretty well, but usually no one with a L mouth perfectly well.

Every person’s mouth and the location of their teeth in their jaws is different. Stock mouth guards designed to fit the common denominator within a size range provide minimal protection for the simple reason that they won’t fit properly. People wearing an ill-fitting mouth guard tend to compensate for that poor fit by biting firmly down onto it. That might help the mouth guard stay in place, but compromises other important things. Doing so compromises your ability to speak and breathe, and forces your jaw and teeth into an unnatural and stressful position for prolonged periods and potentially even at moments of impact. Your risk of injury may actually increase. 

“Boil-and-bite” 

Boil-and-bite mouth guards can be purchased at sporting goods stores, and are typically made of inexpensive rubber that softens when heated. To make a boil-and-bite mouth guard fit you, you boil it in water, then bite down into the softened material. In principle, it’s similar to making a mold in the dentist’s office — though that’s not at all how dentists make molds in their offices. As the rubber cools, the impression you make in the mouthguard will be maintained. 

Boil-and-bite mouth guards offer more protection than a stock mouthguard because they’re at least customized to the athlete’s mouth, but that’s not actually saying much. Boiled mouth guards are simultaneously uncomfortable and easily torn — two unfortunate characteristics, to be sure. Whether you’re an athlete yourself or the parent of an athlete, don’t rely on an uncomfortable mouthguard that your child probably won’t wear consistently. 

Customized 

Your dentist in NW Calgary can create a custom mouth guard that will be comfortable and provide all the protection you and your child need while ensuring the ability to breathe naturally and speak clearly — even if you or your child wears braces. 

Dentists make modern customized pressure laminated from a thermoplastic material wrapped around a dental moulding, which is then polished and tailored to fit perfectly. Customized mouth guards from a dentist in NW Calgary offer essential protection for your child’s mouth in a format customized precisely for your child. After all, your child didn’t come off the shelf. Why should their essential protective equipment? 

If your child is participating in contact sports without protection, or vulnerable to injury while using a stock or boil-and-bite mouthguard, contact a dentist near you to ask to upgrade their equipment. Even the non-athletes in your family may benefit from a custom mouth guard provided by a dentist near you. Ask your dentist to screen you for any symptoms of sleep bruxism and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. A properly fitted mouth guard can protect you from the symptoms of both conditions.